


The Child of Profit

by tepidJudgement



Series: When The Love Runs Out (a Greedy Pull series) [1]
Category: Warframe
Genre: Amnesia, Backstory, F/M, Gen, Headcanon, OKAY SO this is all going into like, Past Relationship(s), Self-Harm, and past relationships where someone gets amnesia, disregard this from the rest of the series, heavy headcanon basis now, love me some papa alad v, non-canon, this fic is more for me or anything so you can like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-05
Updated: 2019-06-05
Packaged: 2020-04-08 07:49:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,863
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19102816
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tepidJudgement/pseuds/tepidJudgement
Summary: Patel is the operator of Voxx, a peculiar Warframe who can function without the use of an operator. However recently Patel fell into the Corpus doctrine, becoming Alad V's apprentice and adopted daughter. In an attempt to impress Alad, Patel enters the Void without a second thought for her safety which causes her Warframe and Alad to chase after her and confront a past they weren't ready to face.





	The Child of Profit

**Author's Note:**

> HELLO IM SORRY  
> so i have this headcanon that i formed with an old friend- more a spinoff than anything but i liked it a lot, that alad used to be an orokin archimedean and invented fusion moas. zanuka used to be is kubrow which is why he's so fond of the proxy  
> and voxx used to be an apothecarian that alad had a crush on Back In The Day and patel used to be this resident child who, alongside voxx's actual daughter anyk, would go to the archimedean halls to pester alad and watch him work on proxies, since patel was more interested in robotics than being an aristocrat.

“Alad V!” A young voice yelled as the soft sound of feet patting against the floor met Alad’s ears. He recognized the voice as soon as he heard it and turned to see a young child running up to him. The Corpus scientist smirked slightly as the young girl stopped in front of him, presenting a tiny robot in her palms. “Look what I made!”

It was a very tiny MOA with Osprey attachments. While flying MOAs weren’t new, no thanks to Nef Anyo and his Orb Vallis troops, the idea of a _miniature_ proxy was still hotly debated. Patel marketed them as toys. I mean, she _was_ a child after all. Alad has been slowly pushing to have Patel identify them under a more useful idea, a spy drone of sorts perhaps. But it was still too early in her prototypes to decide just yet.

However the real question was, who was this young child and why did Alad V tolerate her?

The secret was that she was Voxx’s operator, Patel.

The young girl began accompanying Voxx on her trips to Themisto a few months after Voxx and a troop of Crewmen recovered her from Lua, no help from the Lotus. It was a tip from Alad if anything, after he worked with the Lotus to help other Tenno, he figured he’d give away Lua’s location to Voxx, considering she was a Warframe and probably had an operator too.

And he was right, and she was quite younger than the rest that he’s witnessed.

Because of the fact, Voxx became more of a motherly figure to Patel the moment the young girl awakened. She was quite naive, following Voxx around like a lost puppy. The first initial trip to Themisto was a mistake, Patel snuck off the orbiter without Voxx or Exol’s knowledge, their ship cephalon. It wasn’t until Alad loudly asked whose child it was, that Voxx realized Patel was there.

Patel became very fond of Alad V, to the point where she started calling herself ‘Patel V’. It was always funny to watch Alad V stammer and say she isn’t his child, only to backtrack and say she’s adopted.

He wasn’t a _good_ father figure for Patel, but her original father was arguably worse, Voxx felt. Alad V would teach Patel all she wanted to know and Patel would present her creations to Alad who would give her much praise. He even had her pitch one of her creations to the board once after he pulled some strings to get her an audience _with_ the board.

Patel has come a long way however, almost as if this affinity for robotics was _second nature_. Alad had his suspicions but he didn’t wanna assume anything. As far as he knew, the Tenno’s past were mysterious without a trace of where they came from.

* * *

 

“Is this the mark four I’ve been hearing so much about?” Alad raised an eyebrow, picking up the small proxy, glancing over it slightly. Patel nodded vigorously as Voxx walked into the lab, whilst carrying something. “It looks stable enough, have you tried to activate it?” Alad asked, handing it back to Patel.

The girl shook her head and sat down.

“No but I wanted to try something different.” The young girl pulled up her sleeve and held onto the proxy, trying to focus. Voxx walked over and put a hand on Patel’s shoulder.

“Patel, perhaps you shouldn’t try to overload it with Void energy while being so close to Alad.”

The look on his face and he realized what Patel was trying to do was priceless. Patel glanced up to Alad who had a look of weariness crossed with intrigue.

“Can you leave us to for a second? I need to talk to him.” Voxx shooed the young girl away who happily ran off with the proxy to experiment somewhere else.

Alad sighed to himself, leaning back into his seat.

“What is it now?”

“I found this in Patel’s little workshop.”

Placing down the datapads, Alad V instantly recognized them as the Zanuka prototype blueprints he had, but with a lot more scribbles than he remembered.

“Where did she find these?”

“I’m not sure.” Voxx looked over the tiny Corpus scribbles. “From what I’m able to read, she wanted to make her own Zanuka she could control like a Warframe, since they’re made out of Warframes.”

Alad V was quiet.

“That sounds like an excellent idea personally, hm.”

“Perhaps, but the question is where would she find a somatic link?”

“That thing on the back of your neck? She can just harvest one from a Warframe couldn’t she?” Alad shrugged, glancing behind to watch as the girl shorts out the Proxy using void energy. Oh boy, here comes the waterworks.

“It doesn’t work like that Alad, once a somatic link has been assigned it’ll only work for that Warframe, also I’ll take care of it.” Voxx sighed as she got up and walked over to Patel, quickly comforting her before she busted out crying.

Picking up the young girl, Voxx walked back over and set Patel down. “Would you like to explain what happened?”

Patel sniffled as she set down the broken proxy.

“I broke another capacitor.”

Alad V nodded slightly and glanced off. “I’m sure a Crewman can recover another one for you. Go down to the robotics division and ask for one, they’ll be nice enough.” The young girl hesitated slightly before nabbing the blueprint laid on Alad’s desk and running off to find the Crewman.

“Alright, we need to talk.”

Alad glanced over, his eyebrow quirked. What did she want now?

“It’s about Patel.”

Oh boy.

“Her behavior lately has been a bit… Concerning.” Voxx tried to pick her words carefully. She knew how Corpus functioned. It was part of their culture. Scientists and brokers especially young ones aspiring to be such, they worked night in night out and without fail. There was a reason Alad had such heavy bags under his eyes and Voxx was afraid Patel was following under his example. Just like every other Corpus child.

“Concerning how?” Alad V narrowed his eyes. He knew Voxx didn’t understand the importance of time is money, but it wasn’t his job to stunt Patel’s progress as it were. She was a natural! In no time she could be one of the leading roboticists on the board. And perhaps he could live vicariously through her standing.

“I saw her experimenting on _herself_ . Alad. I understand Corpus will do everything for a break through but she’s hurting herself Alad and you know I can’t stand by that.” Voxx’s tone came out harsher than she meant, it put Alad off slightly. The man was aware of how protective Voxx was of Patel, but this over-protectiveness would just _inhibit_ Patel’s growth. Alad sighed, rubbing at his temple. “Voxx we’ve talked about this.”

“I know we have! I just… I don’t want her to end up dead because something goes wrong Alad. Can you at least talk to her? Please?”

“What would you want me to say?” The fact he wasn’t as concerned about Patel as she was hurt, but she could understand. There was different ideals between her and Alad she supposed.

“Just… I don’t want her hurting herself badly. That’s all I want.”

Alad V furrowed his eyebrows and sighed, looking back up to the frame. “Fine, I’ll talk to her about it. But don’t expect any promises.”

“Thank you Alad. I… Am actually supposed to be on call right now so-”

“Oh you left me with babysitting duty I see.” He sighed, turning back to his desk.

“Just talk to her when you get the chance, okay?” Voxx was quiet. Alad gave no response, merely going back to his work. The frame sighed and left. It was so strange to him, this sort of behavior never seemed _wrong_ when it was a Corpus child. But then again.

Patel was no normal Corpus child.

It had to do with that Void energy Voxx talks about, despite being so young the girl was quite inquisitive and brilliant. Way ahead of any child her age. No doubt she was starting to experiment with her _own_ power. While Alad normally saw no problem in that, considering he played god all the time, he could understand Voxx’s stress. There’s no use in Void energy if the only doner is dead. Alad V sighed to himself as he worked away the numbers, everything was so monotonous nowadays. Test run, fail, watch the tape, crunch the numbers. Again and again, the only thing that could break him from this cycle is the unpredictable Voxx and her little operator. Oh right, Patel.

Alad looked at the time, by Profit has it been hours already and Voxx _still_ isn’t back? She at least came back for Patel after her first mission. Alad V groaned as he rubbed at his eyes after realizing how much they burned. He could use a stretch.

Getting up from his desk, he took a stroll around the Gas City. Crewmen chatted idly as Alad V nodded their way. He stopped by a closed door, a hangar that was modified to become Patel’s own little lab for her to build and experiment. Hesitating for a moment, the man sighed as he knocked on the door. “Patel?” No response. Another disgruntled sigh and he took off one of his gloves, pressing it against the hand scanner. Gaining access, he fitted his glove back on as he entered the small proxy hangar. Glancing around, he didn’t see Patel initially. But then he noticed the glowing substance on the ground.

“...Hm…” He knelt down by it and observed quietly. Then he saw that the glowing residue formed a trail. Following it, he saw Patel slumped against a couple boxes with needles pricked under her skin and vials of what he could assume was Tenno blood. Alongside her was bits and parts of MOAs and multiple blueprints she had apparently stolen from him. Alad V furrowed his eyebrows and sighed, carefully detaching the needles. Picking up the small girl, Alad V carried her off, passing by many curious Corpus. Alad V paused for a moment, glancing over at a Comba. “Can you deliver refreshments to my lab? Make it quick.” Alad V spoke hastily, readjusting his arms to better support Patel’s small body. The Comba nodded as it raced off. Alad V continued back to his lab and finally sit down on his chair. She was more or less asleep if anything, low blood pressure probably. She was a child, she didn’t know what was or wasn’t considered safe. He understood why Voxx was so concerned now. The Comba soon showed up with a few drinks and a juice box. Alad thanked the man quietly and waited for Patel to wake up.

It wasn’t long until she started to stir, glancing around hazily at the room.

“Ah there she is.” Alad said quietly. He was never good with children, but Patel… Was a different case. Initially he was just nice to her out of obligation, she was Voxx’s kid, if he wasn’t nice to her then Voxx wouldn’t have it. But what started as a begrudged feeling turned into something… More genuine. He did care for her, after all.

“Patel… I need to talk to about what you just did.” His tone was a bit strained, but trying to talk quietly wasn’t his forte. The young girl rubbed at her eyes as she looked at Alad. Eye bags. She looked so tired. Alad sighed a bit. “Are you thirsty?”

The operator nodded.

“Ah, here then.” He reached over and handed the juice box to Patel, who took it quietly and began to sip.

“Voxx is…”

Alad paused, sighing.

“ _We’re_ worried about you, Patel. What you did just now… It’s not okay. You could of gotten seriously hurt.”

“But you said…” Her words slurred slightly.

“I know what I said, but the path to success can only go so far if you’re not there for it. You are capable of something no child can compete with Patel, but you can’t drain yourself like that. It… Isn’t healthy.” He was talking directly against the Corpus doctrine at this point. But this was his one exception. _They_ were his one exception.

“I’m sorry…” Patel mumbled, leaning against Alad heavily.

“If you’re going to experiment with your Void powers, let me know. I’d rather witness it myself then find you lying half dead behind a bunch of cargo.” Alad V glanced down to Patel who nodded.

“Good girl.”

* * *

 

Patel sat quietly with Alad for a while, watching him work on whatever Demolyst code he needed this time. The girl yawned slightly, leaning against his shoulder. “Tired again?” He piqued the girl’s attention. “No… Just bored.” She mumbled. Alad V scoffed slightly. “Bored? What is it about coding that bores you and Voxx so much?” The girl snickered slightly, causing a small grin to pull at his lips slightly, but just barely.

Bored huh. He thought for a moment, what is something Voxx wouldn’t let them do if she were here right now.

“...Say, Patel. Want to hear about a Corpus tradition?”

The young girl turned her attention to Alad, nodding vigorously. Alad smirked a bit. “Well, it’s tradition around here that whenever a young corpus earns the pride of their mentor, the mentor gives them their first tattoo.”

Patel stared.

“...Do you want a tattoo?”

Oh boy, Voxx is gonna _hate_ him for this.

 

When Voxx finally returned, Patel’s energy was back up. The young girl jumped off of Alad’s lap and went bolting for Voxx.

“Voxx! Voxx! Look what Alad gave me!” She was ecstatic. Voxx stopped and kneeled down in front of Patel.

“Hold still what did he-”

Voxx went quiet.

“Is.”

“Is that a tattoo?”

She cupped Patel’s face in her hands, the young girl had a small tattoo on the tip of her nose, one that matched with Alad’s. Voxx was quiet for a second.

“...Oh you’re _so_ lucky you’re cute, Patel.” Voxx grumbled, booping her nose with a finger before picking her up.

“Alad V!” Voxx yelled, walking over to the scientists who merely typed away on his computer.

“I’m talking to you Alad!” Voxx reiterated, quirking a hip to the side. Alad was silent for a second before doing a mock double take at Voxx. “Who, _me?_ ” He was purposefully playing dumb, a smirk threatening his features.

“I wish you would of at least _told me_ you were giving Patel a tattoo.”

“Why, does she need your permission or something?” He groaned, leaning back in his chair. “No but I would at least liked to have seen it in the making.” Voxx huffed. Alad shrugged, grinning outright now. “Alright, I’ll let you know when I give her her next tattoo.”

Voxx sighed before looking at Patel. Her vision trailed down slightly, noticing the bandages on her arms.  
“What happened-”

“I talked to her.” Alad said quietly, his tone much lower now. “I caught her before she completely drained herself. But we talked, she said she’s not gonna do that anymore without supervision.”

Voxx looked at Alad. “Without super- she shouldn’t do it at _all_ Alad.” Voxx huffed.

“Look at her! She’s on the brink of something _big_ , who am I to not facilitate that Voxx?” Alad V threw up a hand, waving Voxx off. The frame groaned allowed, using a free hand to rub at her helm.

“Alright how about this, _promise_ me you won’t let her hurt herself that badly again.”

He was silent.

“I said **_promise_ **me!”

“Alright alright, I ‘promise’.” Alad V threw up air quotes, causing Voxx to grow more irritated.

“Like I said _already_ , she isn’t going to go that far again. So if you actually _listened_.” He sighed. Voxx remained huffy for a moment before sighing heavily. Calm down Voxx, he at least talked to her about it. You can’t be mad at him about it.

Alad V smirked slightly, watching Voxx. “Was she at least good despite that?” Voxx asked, bouncing Patel absentmindedly.

“Perhaps.” Again with the vague answers. Voxx rolled her theoretical eyes and turned away.

“Remind me to never let you babysit Patel again.”

“You know you’ll just drop her off here again anyways~” Alad teased, waving at Patel as Voxx walked off.

“Bye Alad!!” Patel yelled, waving both her hands.

Alad V snickered slightly before finally turning back to his work.

He was right though, Voxx came in with Patel once more. Not to babysit or anything. Voxx wanted to spend time with Alad and also didn’t trust Patel enough to _not_ wreck their Orbiter again unsupervised.

“Say, why don’t you let your cephalon look after her anyways?” Alad asked, walking alongside Voxx.

“I have, by accident. The place was a mess after I got back.” Voxx sighed, trying to keep the event as vague as possible.

“Ahh… Right, your mysterious disappearance.” Alad V clicked, glancing over at the frame. Every time he brought it up, Voxx would get physically bothered by it. Sighing a bit he glanced off towards one of the open windows. “When they were rebuilding the architectures for the Gas Cities, I was hoping the ventilation system would be much harder to traverse through. Since you and your fellow Tenno seemed to love to break the grates all the time instead of using the front entrance like _normal_ entities.” Alad V mocked. Voxx glanced up slightly. “You should know any ventilation system isn’t tough to navigate when it comes to me.”

Before the conversation could traverse, they were both approached by a Crewman.

“Alad V, Patel is gone.”

The two glanced at each other, Alad’s eyes widening.

“What do you mean? I left her in charge of _you_ idiots! How hard is it to watch a child?!” Alad growled, getting up close to the crewman.

“She-She slipped away and made a break for _something_ , I’m not sure what. She was saying something about she knew where to get a somatic link-”

Voxx held up her hand.

“Stop, back up. A somatic link?”

“Yes, that’s what she said.”

Voxx rubbed at her helm. “Does Jupiter have any Void portals?”

“Uh- Technically yes, but it should be inactive considering we uh- heh heh, _seized_ it from Grineer personnel.” Read: Stole.

“She’s going to try and go to the void to recover Archimedean tech.”

Alad instantly went silent at this. It was one thing to say Void relics, but specifically state _Archimedean_ tech? Alad V’s demeanor changed instantly. He started making a B-line towards the Void portal area.

Voxx quickly caught up to him, hurriedly jumping into the room to see it-- Empty.

Empty with an inactive portal.

“She… She already went in.” Voxx muttered. She quickly ran over to the Void device, trying to see where exactly she ended up.

“I’m going to go get her.”

Alad V was silent.

“You don’t know if the Portal will reopen to the same place twice.”

“Well what do you want us to do, Alad? What other options do we have?” Voxx hissed. Slamming her hand against the machine, the key jostled slightly, spurring the thing to life and reopening the portal.

“She’s a Tenno, she can defend herself.”

“She’s a _CHILD_ Alad! There’s a reason that I-- that Warframes were _made!_ It’s because the children are too weak to defend on their own!” Voxx pleaded, staring at the portal.

“How do you know that?” Alad challenged, stepping towards her.

“Because I--” Voxx took a deep breath.

“I don’t have time for this Alad. We either go and get her or you stay here and do what you do best and leave it to me.”

“And what would that be? Hm?” Alad sneered.

“Not caring.” Voxx’s tone was cold as she jumped through the portal. Alad V sputtered a bit. A small growl erupting from him as he glanced back at the Crewmen who quietly watched their ordeal.

“You, let John Prodman know he’s in charge until I come back.” Alad hissed as he gingerly stepped through the portal.

* * *

 

Alad V fell through the portal, hastily collecting himself. He glanced around slightly, the Orokin architecture feeling eerily familiar. He cursed to himself quietly as he pushed himself up from the ground. He’s never _been_ in the Void before, he’s send squads in to collect for him, sure, but never has he actually traveled through the portals. It wasn’t his job any how. But here he was.

Back again.

The thing about Alad. Nobody knew where Alad came from either. He was one of the oldest Corpus members as far as anybody’s concerned and anybody who knew of him weren’t alive today. But the secret was…

Alad V wasn’t Corpus. He was Orokin.

But nobody knew that. Nobody will _ever_ know that.

The man grumbled as he walked through the pristine halls. Centuries has it been since he wore their clothes and walked these halls. Him and his canine companion, a large Kubrow he lovingly called _Zanuka_. He used to be an Archimedean, an Orokin scientist. He was considered a lesser Archimedean however, tasked with simple tasks. He wanted to be among those who got a chance to work with the Sentients, but he never got his chance. How ironic now that he blends Sentient and Corpus technology together now. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he began hearing distant gunfire.

Making haste, he ran towards the sounds, please be Voxx please be Voxx-

Walking through the gilded doors, he was first met by the corpse of corrupted Grineer and Corpus. Alad V walked quietly, kneeling down for the singed remains of a Fusion MOA. One of the oldest MOA models predating current Corpus tech- a proxy he made as an Archimedean. He felt a nudge at his head, glancing up to see that familiar familiar Frame.

“Glad to see you decided to come along.” Voxx spoke, holding a Supra in hand.

“Come on, I think I know where Patel is.”

The two walked quietly through the halls. Alad V remained mostly quiet, observing the architecture while Voxx remained focused on their path ahead. Eventually Voxx broke off, going towards a door that seemed disabled. “Voxx that’s a dead end. You can’t just _Tenno_ your way through that one.” Alad sneered, crossing his arms.

Voxx remained quietly, feeling along the wall next to the door. “Ah.” Swiping her fingers over it, a panel opened to show a speaker.

“...Voice recognition.” Voxx mumbled.

“Well we’re not Orokin, so we can’t get through.” Alad groaned, looking at Voxx.

“I know that! But Patel’s behind that door I’m telling you.” Voxx pleaded. “...How did she manage that?”

Voxx looked at Alad, then back at the door. “I… I don’t know. But she did it.”

Alad was quiet for a moment. Before saying anything, Voxx was pulling up a holofeed.

“What are you doing.”

“My cephalon is an era one, meaning she was created during the Orokin reign. As far as I know she used to be a lab assistant, so perhaps she has something recorded that we could use to gain access to the door.” Alad V was quiet as Voxx established a connection with Exol.

“Ah, Exol. I need some help.”

“What can I do for you Operator Voxx?”

“I need you to access your Orokin database.”

“My-- But operator, those files are locked behind an encrypted code!”

“Exol please. Patel ran off through an old Orokin back door and we need to gain access to find her.”

Exol was quiet for a moment.

“I’m sorry Operator Voxx, but unless you can unlock my encryption I can’t-”

Alad V sighed to himself, speaking up. Voxx stared at Alad as he spoke the words allowed. They were-

“Access granted. Accessing Archimedean Database.” Exol’s voice rang. Voxx stared at Alad who avoided eye contact.

Voxx scrolled through the database and--

It was… All the same person?

Going up to the speaker, Voxx played the recording.

 

 

> “Ah- This is what, day two-hundred and eighty-four? The Zariman Ten-Zero was recently recovered and… The damage was horrifying. All adults were found dead upon discovery, however the children. _The children_. They… They were fine. Well, not fine.”

Alad V recognized this voice. He _knew_ this voice.

 

> “The Void _did_ something to them. They aren’t- they aren’t well. The Archimedeans won’t let me see her.”

The woman, a petite Orokin doctor- an Apothecarian, with big white hair and gold accessories focused the cephalon’s recording towards herself.

 

> “Remor was found dead and Patel was crying next to him. The poor girl gets a chance to finally spend time with her father and-and this happens… I don’t know what they plan to do to her but I promised Remor and his wife years ago that if anything happened I’d take care of Patel. On top of that Anyk got discharged from the Dax earlier today. If- if her father was alive right now he’d be furious. Ah… Everything in the Apothecarian halls is a mess right now. Left and right we’re all trying to tend to the damaged children. Patel wandered off from the other children and ended up in the Archimedean laboratory-”

The woman took a deep breath, trying not to cry.

 

> “She asked if-if she could see Zanuka one last time. She thought she was _dying_. Alad of course was nice enough to let her pet her. She and Anyk used to pester him all the time when they were younger.”

The woman’s voice wavered, another pause.

 

> “Ugh- I have a job to do. Everything is falling apart Exolus and I’m afraid that everything is falling apart. Apothecarian Voxx Tae, Ten Seven Zero Three.”

The recording cut and Exol returned, silent. Voxx was quiet for a moment and glanced over to Alad, who avoided her gaze.

 

The door beeped and opened, revealing a dusty and untouched laboratory. Old proxies and machinery left untouched by years of neglect. Voxx stepped inside cautiously, followed by Alad V. The two looked around slightly, only to be interrupted by rustling. Voxx quickly raced over towards the noise and discovered Patel, digging through old parts.

“Oh my god Patel.” Voxx wheezed as she snatched the child and hugged her.

“What in the name of Profit are you doing here?! You had me worried _sick!_ ” Voxx huffed, the young girl looking towards Voxx.

“I was just going to get a somatic link.” Patel mumbled.

“The Void is _dangerous_. Patel, you could have gotten seriously hurt.”

“I had a friend though!”

“...A friend?”

“Mhm.” Patel pointed to the corner, however there was nothing there.

“...Are you sure you had a friend?”

“She was here a second ago. I found a Kubrow!” Patel frowned, looking around. Alad V became visibly upset, frowning slightly.

“Let’s just go already, we’ve spent enough time here.” He snapped, turning and walking away. Voxx was quiet for a moment, quietly following after Alad V. But not after snatching a Somatic Link from a table first.

* * *

 

Back on Themisto, Patel was off in her workshop while Voxx and Alad sat in his lab, contemplating that recording they witnessed.

“...So who goes first?” Voxx asked, looking at Alad who stared off at the horizon.

“Considering I don’t have any memory of this alleged video, I feel like you should explain yourself first.” Voxx was stern, watching Alad’s facial expression.

“What is there to explain.” He huffed. “You saw what I saw and you heard what I heard, end of story. I can’t explain it to you.” Alad V seethed. He didn’t want to admit that he felt something for Voxx. Because he’s _always_ felt something for her. But only now did he realize the same woman he fell for centuries ago was entombed into shining metal without her memory of what they once shared.

“But our names were mentioned explicitly in that video. Either you’re keeping something from me or that was one hell of a coincidence.” Voxx stood up, looking down at Alad.

“I can’t explain it to you Voxx! Whatever Exol has on that database- whatever _we_ discovered, it was never meant to be uncovered and we should pretend it never happened.” He sounded so bitter and cold. Voxx glanced away from the other. She had the strangest idea of what was going on here, but she didn’t know for sure. Sighed to herself, she placed her hand over Alad’s. “We don’t have to talk about it. Pretend it never happened.” Voxx spoke quietly. “It never happened.” Alad grumbled, looking away. He knew Voxx wouldn’t be able to let it go that easily, she was just trying to compromise for him. But he didn’t care. What happened back then didn’t matter anymore. Now was different. He wasn’t a useless Archimedean anymore, he was a brilliant _Corpus_ scientist. Whose breakthroughs have paved way for all kinds of proxies and robotics. He let out an annoyed sigh, going back to his work. Voxx glanced over her shoulder slightly, Alad V paid her no mind. One of these days she’ll get through to him, one of these days.

**Author's Note:**

> IM SORRY IF THIS WAS CHEESY OR CRINGY I JUST NEEDED THIS OUT OF MY SYSTEM AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA  
> i am. also sorry if alad was ooc. i tried to keep his snarkiness up despite the content i was writing. I Am But A Simple Mag.


End file.
